MADURAI: A van with eight occupants plunged into a 50-feet roadside well in Thoothukudi on Saturday. While three persons managed to swim to safety, five others, including a child, drowned, officials said.
Thoothukudi Superintendent of Police Albert John inspected the accident site. The SP said the victims belonged to Coimbatore and were travelling to Sathankulam to attend a church festival.
The driver of the van lost control of the vehicle while crossing Meerankulam village and it plunged into the open well, they said.
Teams of fire and rescue personnel were involved in rescue operations.
An operation was under way to retrieve the bodies of two men, two women and a child trapped inside the vehicle. Apart from the Fire and Rescue Services personnel, a few cranes and some SCUBA divers also joined the search and rescue operation, the SP said.
According to sources, those who were trapped in the vehicles were identified as Vasantha, Moses, Ravi Koil Pichai, Kenji Kirubha and Shalini. Those who managed to escape are Jershon, Jessitta and Shiny Kirubakaran.
District Fire Officer K Ganesan said the open well is located 20 metres from the road. The three passengers who escaped managed to do so because they got tossed and accidently got thrown out of the window.
The Sathankulam police have filed a case and are investigating further, sources said.